The Otago Peninsula

The 35km-long crooked finger of the OTAGO PENINSULA, running northeast from Dunedin, divides Otago Harbour from the Pacific Ocean. With sweeping views of the harbour, the sea and Dunedin against its dramatic backdrop of hills, the peninsula offers outstanding year-round marine wildlife viewing that’s probably the most condensed and varied in the country.

The prime wildlife viewing spots are concentrated at the peninsula’s tip, Taiaroa Head (less than an hour’s drive from Dunedin), where cold waters forced up by the continental shelf provide a rich and constant food source. The majestic royal albatross breeds here in what is the world’s only mainland albatross colony. Also concentrated on the headland’s shores are penguins (the little blue and the rare yellow-eyed) and southern fur seals, while the cliffs are home to other seabirds including three species of shag, muttonbirds (sooty shearwaters) and various species of gull. New Zealand sea lions sometimes loll on beaches, while offshore, orca and whales can be seen. Other than taking one of the excellent wildlife tours, the best opportunities for seeing animals are on some of the beaches. Sandfly Bay welcomes yellow-eyed penguins home in the late afternoon, then Pilots Beach sees the arrival of blue penguins around dusk.

Around the head of Otago Harbour, Portobello Road shakes off Dunedin’s southern suburbs and begins to weave its way along the peninsula’s shoreline past little bays, many dotted with stilt-mounted boathouses. Beyond the accommodation and eating nexus of Portobello, Harington Point Road continues to Taiaroa Head.

Apart from wildlife spotting there’s appeal in the beautiful woodland gardens of Glenfalloch, the excellent Marine Studies Centre & Aquarium, the exemplary grounds of Larnach Castle and several scenic walks to spectacular views and unusual land formations created by lava flows.

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Larnach Castle

At Company Bay, Castlewood Road runs 4km inland to the 1871 Gothic Revival Larnach Castle, which sits high on a hill commanding great views across the harbour to Dunedin. More château than fort, this sumptuous residence was designed by Robert A. Lawson for Australian-born banker, politician and importer William Larnach. Materials were shipped from all over the world then punted across the harbour and dragged uphill by ox-drawn sleds. Its outer shell took three years to complete, with the ornate interior taking another nine.

After years of neglect the castle was rescued by the Barker family in the late 1960s and has since been progressively restored while remaining their home. Check out the concealed spiral staircase in the corner of the third floor, which leads up to a terraced turret.

The castle’s magnificent manicured grounds, divided into nine gardens, are of national significance and quite beautiful; keep an eye out for the handful of Alice in Wonderland statues, such as one of the Cheshire cat hiding in an ancient Atlas cedar tree.

You can refresh yourself at the café in the former ballroom, or stay overnight.

Observing wildlife

When observing wildlife, respect the animals by staying well away from them (at least 10m), and keeping quiet and still. Penguins are especially frightened by people and they may be reluctant to come ashore (even if they have chicks to feed) if you are on or near the beach and visible. In summer, keep to the track as they’re extremely vulnerable to stress while nesting and moulting. Never get between a seal or sea lion and the sea; these animals can be aggressive and move quickly.

The yellow-eyed penguin

Found only in southern New Zealand, the endangered yellow-eyed penguin, or hoiho, is considered the most ancient of all living penguins but today numbers only around four thousand. It evolved in forests free of predators, but human disturbance, loss of habitat and the introduction of ferrets, stoats and cats have had a devastating effect. The small mainland population of just a few hundred occupies nesting areas dotted along the wild southeast coast of the South Island (from Oamaru to the Catlins), while other smaller colonies inhabit the coastal forest margins of Stewart Island and offshore islets, and New Zealand’s sub-Antarctic islands of Auckland and Campbell.

Male and female adults are identical in colouring, with pink webbed feet and a bright yellow band that encircles the head, sweeping over their pale yellow eyes. Standing around 65cm high and weighing 5–6kg – making them the third-largest penguin species after the Emperor and the King – they have a life expectancy of up to twenty years. Their diet consists of squid and small fish, and hunting takes them up to 40km offshore and to depths of 100m.

Maori named the bird hoiho, meaning “the noise shouter”, because of the distinctive high-pitched calls (an exuberant trilling) it makes at night when greeting its mate at the nest. Unlike other penguins, the yellow-eyed does not migrate after its first year, but stays near its home beach, making daily fishing trips and returning as daylight fails.

The penguins’ breeding season lasts for 28 weeks, from mid-August to early March. Eggs are laid between mid-September and mid-October, and both parents share incubation duties for about 43 days. The eggs hatch in November and for the next six weeks the chicks are constantly guarded against predators. By the time the down-covered chicks are six or seven weeks old, their rapid growth gives them voracious appetites and both parents must fish daily to satisfy them. The fledglings enter the sea for the first time in late February or early March and journey up to 500km north to winter feeding grounds. Fewer than fifteen percent of fledged chicks reach breeding age, but those that do return to the colony of their birth.